***Helen Donohoe, M.S.Ed., is a teacher of English and French in the Hamilton/Burlington area. She holds practice SAT sessions on Saturdays on an informal, drop-in basis at Cedar Springs Racquet Club where she is a member, long-time tennis hacker and aficionado.

In this section of the website we will be publishing short paragraphs on various aspects of SAT. Please leave your questions/comments here, and Helen will be happy to respond to any specific concerns from students/parents***

Once you have completed your list of works you have read (see last week’s article about identifying the main themes), choose three which you feel you know best and which you enjoyed reading. It’s best to stick to the classics, as the readers/scorers of your essay will know the classics too. Remember too, that the readers of the essays are American, so they will be familiar with American authors. If you choose a novel or poem that you have read, but that few others have read, it will be more difficult to get your point across to the readers without going into a lot of detail, something that is not essential to the essay.

Let’s say you choose Macbeth, The Scarlet Letter and The Kite Runner. Have you noticed the balance I have created here – one each from British, American and non-western literature – a safe and sagacious (find the meaning!) choice. I’ve selected three essay topics from recent SAT’s (I have shortened them slightly):

1. Are we free to make our own choices in life, or are our decisions always limited by the rules of society?

2. Is honesty always the best policy?

3. Do we need knowledge of the past to fully understand the present?

Essay question # 1 – making choices. Can you apply a theme? Think of Macbethas he listens to the words of the witches and decides to interpret them to suit his ambitions… He makes a choice… And sets off down the path of no return…

Essay question # 2 – honesty. Can you apply a theme? Think of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter. Who is honest and who is dishonest (dishonesty is also related to hypocrisy, another big essay theme)?

Essay question # 3 – knowledge of the past. Can you apply a theme? Think of the setting of The Kite Runner and how it switches from an “old” part of the world with centuries of tradition to a “new” part of the world with fewer conventions, and how the main character adapts…

I’ll continue on this thread next week. By now, the format of the essay question should be taking shape in your mind or on paper (or laptop, iPad, iPhone).

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Latest Videos

We thought we would share this Vasek Pospisil post match interview with Jim Courrier after his 2nd round win at the Australian Open. Unfortunately, Vasek had to pull out of the tournament, missing out on the opportunity to play Wawrinka in the 3rd round. Vasek, we wish you a quick recovery and a strong 2014.

***Clement Golliet is the newly appointed Director of ACE Fitness and is overseeing the fitness component of all ACE Tennis High Performance programs, is the Head Trainer at Toronto Tennis City and ACE Burlington, and offers private and group fitness sessions for ACE and OTA players as required. Clement’s mandate is to help build the new ACE Fitness brand and to offer leading edge training for tennis players in Ontario.

Clement has a Bachelors of Kinesiology from the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) and possesses various certifications in the areas of private training, spinning, T-Rx, performance, and reconditioning. A former high level basketball player and bodybuilder, Clement also has his French Federation Level 3 in kayaking. Before coming to Toronto to work with ACE Fitness, Clement was a personal trainer, fitness, strength, and conditioning coach at Sporting Club Sanctuaire in Montreal for tennis, basketball, and track running. Clement also has professional training in Clinical rehabilitation and experience as a sports teacher in Switzerland.

What is the ACE Fitness approach to physical conditioning? It is set on two basic principles: spine stability and hip mobility. To increase performance, we need to spare the spine from counterproductive stress and create good muscular activation and posture. Ultimately this will ensure the best biomechanics-friendly training.

The video is done by Prof. Stuart McGill, the world wide specialist in biomechanics. It debunks a few myths and shows how to utilize the concepts of “super stiffness” and “neutral spine” through a few simple exercises. And remember, core training and a healthy life are the fundamentals on which success can be built for any kind of sport! I trust you will enjoy the video!
Clément